Strictly Sinatra

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All Rise...

The Charge

Getting To the Top Can Be Murder.

Opening Statement

Also known as Cocozza's Way, don't be fooled by any permutation of the
title or the picture inserts on the disc. Even before you've watched this movie,
it's trying to deceive you. First, the original title tries to make you think of
superior films like Carlito's Way.
Don't. Then, the current title entices you to believe this film will have the
lure and charisma of The Chairman of the Board. It doesn't. Lastly, the DVD case
leads you astray with a big picture of Las Vegas on the front and back covers.
Let it be known that not one scene is set in that fabulous city. And then you
get around to watching the movie and it all falls tragically into place. This
movie is not worth your time, for it's dull, plodding, uninspired, and
anticlimactic.

Facts of the Case

"There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught
me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

Toni Cocozza (Ian Hart, Harry
Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, The End of the Affair) is a lounge
singer in Glasgow, Scotland. He fancies Frank Sinatra—his career, that
is—and he aspires to follow in the footsteps of his idol and someday make
it big in that shining Mecca in the desert, Las Vegas. As he would have it,
Toni's repertoire consists solely of songs by Ole Blue Eyes himself. One night
at the dirty dive where he regularly performs, he receives a request to do a
song. As it's an Elvis song, Tony refuses; he's strictly Sinatra. His friend and
backup pianist, Bill (Alun Armstrong, Proof Of
Life, Sleepy Hollow), points out to
him that the request has come from Connolly, the head of the local Mafioso, and
that it would be in his very best interests to fulfill the request. Reluctantly,
Toni does so.

As fate would have it, Connolly and his wife Dainty are huge fans of Toni's,
and almost instantly, they begin to bring them into their world. At first,
there's nothing dangerous or illegal going on with Toni. They've simply asked
him to tag along to some events and also asked him to sing from time to time.
It's only after Toni has begun to acclimate to the newfound power from this
friendship that he's pulled in to doing some dirty work.

The number one man in this local crime syndicate is Chisolm (Brian Cox, The Affair Of The Necklace, The Bourne Identity, Rushmore). It is he who ends up having
the most contact with Toni, and thus ends up being the one who "asks"
Toni to do them some "favors." Quicker than you can say "I amuse
you? I make you laugh? What the f*** is so funny about me?" Toni is
neck-deep in trouble with the mob. They've done some things for Toni and so Toni
has to do some things for them. He's quite uncomfortable with what is being
asked of him, but he can't seem to summon up the courage to say no. And because
of his new associations with the local Mafia, Toni is changing for the worse,
and his friends, namely Bill and new girlfriend Irene (Kelly Macdonald, Gosford Park, Trainspotting), have begun to
distance themselves.

Will Toni be able to get away from the mob? How many more favors will he
have to do for Chisolm? Will Toni be able to reconcile with Bill and Irene? Is
Toni any good at his lounge act?

The Evidence

I was exceptionally disappointed with just about everything on this disc, and
I think I can complain about something in every category. Regardless of my
current distaste, I really do not have a lot of venom I want to shoot at this
little Scottish film. So, I think I'll first try to rustle up some good things
to say about the film.

The Good (Note: some of these points are indeed a stretch):
• The actual distributor of the film is a little outfit called
"DNA Films." Their logo, which comes after Universal's, is pretty
cool. • The video transfer is by and large good; it's not
perfect yet its detractions are minimal. On the downside, the picture is a bit
soft and grainy with a light touch of edge enhancement (nothing too distracting
though). On the upside, colors are accurate (nothing overly vibrant and lush,
however), the picture is sharp, and—aside from the edge
enhancement—there are no transfer flaws: no artifacting, pixeling, and the
whatnot. • All of the actors, including the supporting cast,
give excellent performances. But it was sometimes difficult for me to take Ian
Hart seriously as, for some inexplicable reason, he reminded me of a young Norm
Macdonald (SNL). • I enjoyed the direction and
cinematography of the film. For the latter, I would have liked more outdoors
shots, but the script obviously called for more interior set work.
• This movie has the second-best Trek reference (as I see it)
in a DVD released this year: "Sinatra was a baldy." "No he
wasn't!" "He was toupee of the century. You can still see it. He left
it to Bill Shatner in his will." • I checked out the
English subtitles on the disc and found their "placement" in relation
to the characters onscreen to be exceptional. I cannot recall subtitles being
laid out so well on any other DVD I've watched.

The Bad: • You have two audio tracks to choose from: DTS or
5.1 Dolby Digital. I always choose DTS first then go and give the 5.1 Dolby
Digital a quick run-through during some "key" scenes. While listening
to the DTS track, I was surprised at how much potent the score and music was
compared to the dialogue. I'd set the volume at a comfortable level for the
dialogue, which is actually crisp and clear on both tracks, and then find myself
being jolted when the music kicked in. Alas, the DTS track is quite unbalanced.
Fortunately, the 5.1 Dolby Digital track is quite better and does not suffer
from any imbalance. Thus, for the first time ever, I have to rate a DTS worse
than the 5.1 Dolby Digital. • This is a movie based and filmed
in Scotland. Hence, the accents are thick, making it difficult to follow the
dialogue. I was thus in need of utilizing the subtitle track for the entire
movie. • And, the ultimate problem with the movie is that it's
slow. The pacing in this film is so excruciatingly unhurried, that I was afraid
I was going to fall asleep. Fortunately, there were enough musical numbers
interspersed throughout to film to jolt me awake (see DTS above). There's
nothing wrong with a film taking its time when it's done right and leads to a
satisfying payoff (e.g. The Sixth
Sense), but we don't get anything of the sort here. The film takes its sweet
old time to get from A to B to C and finally to climax D. Things do get a tad
more exciting at D, but then you realize that the ending is dumb. The payoff is
not worth the time you just invested. It's an easy, highly predictable,
sugarcoated ending that is just plain improbable based on the characters we've
just watched. It couldn't happen as they suggest and so the film loses any
possible credibility. • Lastly, seeing as Toni is a bumbling
dolt, why would Chisholm and Connolly stoop to bring him in on a job? Sure, they
say they're desperate. Sure, maybe he is a fresh new face that the cops won't
take notice. But because he's so completely incompetent and green, the chances
of the job failing really are too big when he's in tow. Any well organized crime
syndicate would know better than to bring in such a rube.

Is it good or bad? This movie was released across the pond in 2001. On this
side of the water, it's never seen the inside of any theater. The release date
was originally set for mid-2001, but it was pushed back and back and back until
they finally gave up and are giving it to us straight-to-video. Because of that
fact, we're getting a bare bones disc. In true Paramount-fashion, there's
nothing on the disc but the movie. (Yes, I know this isn't a Paramount movie,
but they are the masters of the bare bones so I feel it's proper to give credit
where it's due.)

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Uh, Ian really sang well! No he didn't! He could barely lip
sync, and he kept hiding his mouth behind the microphone.

Well, Ian's hair is really cool and retro! No, his hair is
atrocious. Even his girlfriend in the movie picks on how bad his perm looks.

Then, the acting is really good! Okay, I'll give you that one.
Brian Cox is a great character actor and does another superb job with his role.
He and the rest of the cast did a fine job with the limp material presented to
them.

Thanks. I really liked that part when Toni thought he was going to die,
and then he isn't killed and ends up singing "She's a Tramp." Sure. If that works for you…

Closing Statement

Bottom line, Strictly Sinatra is not worth your time. It is not the
most hideous film ever put on disc, but the plot is thin and wanting. If you're
interested in catching a film where a young man gets pulled into the Mafia, then
you don't want to pick this one up. I could easily rattle off a dozen other
films for you to buy or rent, but you could probably name two dozen so I won't
even waste anymore of your time.

The Verdict

Guilty. When it's straight-to-video, 99% of the time you're in for a rough
ride and this one certainly falls into that category. As Universal wisely did
not attempt a theatrical release with this dud, sentence is reduced to time
served. Case adjourned.